Old Governor's Mansion to be revitalized

First lady Jane Beshear is scheduled to announce plans on Tuesday to revitalize the Old Governor's Mansion in Frankfort in preparation for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in 2010.

Former Kentucky first ladies and former residents of the Old Governor's Mansion are scheduled to appear with Beshear at a 10 a.m. press conference at the mansion at 420 High Street in Frankfort, said Gov. Steve Beshear's deputy communication director Jill Midkiff.

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Midkiff said Monday afternoon she could not confirm which former first ladies would be in attendance.

The revitalization will be paid for with private or in-kind donations and at no cost to taxpayers, said Valeria Cummings, communications director for the state Finance and Administration Cabinet.

State officials have not said how much the project will cost.

Representatives from the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, a horse rescue facility in Nicholasville; L.V. Harkness & Co., a Lexington home furnishings and gifts store; and the Kentucky Executive Mansions Foundation Inc. will attend the press conference, according to a release from Gov. Beshear's office.

The Old Governor's Mansion was built in 1798. The building was used as the state's Governor's Mansion until 1914, when the current Governor's Mansion was constructed.

From the mid-1950s until 2002, when the General Assembly decided that then- Lt. Gov. Steve Henry should no longer have housing provided for him, the Old Governor's Mansion was the home of lieutenant governors.

Lieutenant governors now get a $2,500 monthly housing allowance.

The Old Governor's Mansion underwent a nearly $2.3 million restoration that began in 2002.

The Old Governor's mansion is now open to the public for tours two days each week.

The World Equestrian Games at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington will be the largest equine sporting event ever held in the United States. Scheduled from Sept. 25 to Oct. 10, 2010, it will be the first time the event will be held outside of Europe.

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